Utter Chaos
by Becky Sky
Summary: What if the heroes had never been rescued by Hermes in Chaos 101? What if they had been captured, and met under different circumstances? Can they still work together, and still save the world without the aid of the gods? Or are they doomed to failure?
1. Chapter One

Chapter One

Wind blew gently against Jay's face as he turned the boat towards the tiny island. It fiddled with his bangs and caressed his high cheek bones. Looking back through chocolate eyes, he noticed that his sailing class was doing a fine job of keeping up. Grinning, he shouted, "Keep going!" Hoping to challenge them a bit more, he let out more sail, heightening his speed.

Suddenly a huge foot came out of nowhere and crashed in front of him, causing his sailboat to tumble about, threatening to overturn. Jumping off, he landed in the sea, coughing out salt water as he surfaced. Treading water, he searched around frantically to see what had upset his boat. His jaw dropped as he came face to face with a huge green giant, who raised his club to bash him in the head. Jay dove, dodging the blow, but it managed to hit him in the leg. Wincing, he swam up to break through the waves.

Then he was being lifted upwards as a burly hand grasped him. Kicking viciously, but without success, he was carried away, leaving a bunch of terrified children in his wake. Jay wondered what this beast could possibly want with him. Fear surged through him, and he wished he had never waked up that morning.

Meanwhile, a young girl of fifteen raced through the forest of evergreens, leaping logs and stumbling down steep hills to pursue her prey.

"Hey, wait for us!" called two harried voices. Two young boys, one tall and skinny, the other stout and plump, scurried along behind her. She sighed. Brothers; why did she have to have them?

"Hurry up," she cried irritably. "And for goodness' sake be quiet!" She turned back and cast hazel eyes over the small clearing she had entered. Frowning, she knelt and felt the ground. It was soft, as though cloven hooves had trampled the ground into a soft mush. They were close. Sniffing, she wrinkled her nose at the revolting smell of urine. The deer probably wasn't the only deer around.

Stringing her bow, she crept behind a bush and peeked around it. She nearly whooped with glee as she spotted her target: a young buck, probably only a yearling, eating lush grass across the tumultuous stream. Aiming, she was about to fire when a massive tremor shook the ground, sending her off balance, and knocking her bow and arrow out of her hands and into the rushing river below.

"What the…"

"Atlanta!" screamed a horrified voice.

"What…" her voice trailed off as she looked to see an enormous red monster clomping its way through the woods towards her. There went all her years of tree planting. Angry, she faced it, twirling a huge stick she had found as a weapon.

"You want a piece of me?" she yelled. "Well, come and get it, you big monster freak!"

Peeved, the giant took a swing at her, but she used the speed she had discovered earlier in her life to propel her away from him. She then sped towards him, thrashing him with her weapon as she dashed between his legs. A yowl like none she had ever heard arose, and she cried out, dropping her stick to slap her hand over her ears. In this moment, she was grabbed from behind and struck over the head with a blunt instrument. Before she could fight back, she was rendered helpless.

Pleased that they had completed their mission, the giants lumbered away, two descendants down and accounted for and only five more to go.

Hermes arrived at the scene of the crime a tad too late. Five young children sobbed out their story to local authorities, who scratched their heads in disbelief as the kids hiccupped and wept inconsolably. He gulped and listened closely.

"These big monsters… took him!" One girl shrieked, trembling. "They might eat him!"

_Or worse,_ Hermes thought grimly. He groaned. Hera was going to kill him. This was definitely Cronus' work. He reined in his griffins and directed them north, hoping against all hope that the next hero was all right.

What he found was even more depressing. Far from being safe, the heroine had been stolen away as well, leaving two frightened little boys to tell her story. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police had just as hard a time believing their story, and checked her off as a runaway. Hermes snorted in disgust and wheeled the griffins away south to see if he could possibly have some luck today in finding heroes alive and well.

"Doe rah me la so fa ti doe!" Herry sang as he jumped from fence post to fence post on his parents' farm. It was a typical day: the sun was shining, the birds were singing, and the tall prairie grass rippled in the breeze. He flexed his muscles and grinned. Trotting up to one of the many apple trees that dotted the farm, he reached up to take one. But suddenly it was uprooted by a very vicious looking thing.

"I haven't seen you on the farm before," Herry commented. The giant roared and swung the tree at him. Paling, Herry grabbed it before it could kill him, or at least injure him badly. Using his tremendous strength, he swung it around, with the giant on the other end, and let go, sending the beast hurling through space.

He wiped the dust and grime off his hands, and then mourned the loss of the beautiful tree. But his victory was short lived as a net came sailing out of nowhere and encased him. Struggling to snap it, he found it to no avail; it was as strong as he was. And he found himself to be getting very sleepy. The knockout gas did its work, and the giants harvested their latest hero to pack in beside the other two in their large canvas bag.

Hermes knew that he was doomed the moment he arrived at the farm. No birds sang, and the sun had disappeared. A gaping hole smiled up at him from which the apple tree had come, and Hermes knew that once more he had failed. He had to get faster griffins. And he had to get to the next hero. Before Cronus' minions did.

Jay woke up to a musty smell and a feeling of being suffocated. Groggy, he glanced around to see a brawny guy with dark brown hair and olive skin, and a tiny redhead with a tee-shirt and cargo pants sprawled out. The girl slowly blinked her eyelashes, groaning and flinching as blood spurted from a tiny cut on her head.

"Are you alright?" Jay asked anxiously.

Shuddering, she nodded. "It's a good thing I always carry bandages with me," she joked dryly, plastering one across her forehead. "I have really clumsy brothers, so when they come hunting, there's always accidents." Frowning, she glanced around. "Where are we?"

"In some kind of enclosure. By the way, I'm Jay."

"The name's Atlanta." She noticed the other boy. "Who the heck is he?"

Jay shrugged. "I have no clue. I don't even know why we're here."

"Maybe he knows." She turned to shake him awake. He shifted, muttering something about food, and then opened his eyes.

"Whoa, where am I?" he exclaimed.

"Never mind," she said dully to Jay. "We don't know," she answered the boy. "But who are you. I'm Atlanta, and that's Jay," she said, pointing.

"I'm Herry." He scratched his back. "This stuff is really itchy."

Atlanta ran her hand over the material that caged them. She could feel movement from outside of it, and the rocking feeling suited her deduction that they were being lugged around. "It feels like canvas. You know, like those shopping bags you can get?"

"So we're being carried around in a large shopping bag… by those things that captured us?" Herry questioned. Jay nodded.

"I wonder what they want with us…"

"Me too," Atlanta and Herry chorused. "And maybe there's going to be more of us. Considering that there are only three of us that may be a good thing."

"What do you mean?" Herry asked. Atlanta tried not to roll her eyes. How thick was this guy? "I mean that the more of us there are, the better the chances at defeating these brutes and getting home. There's safety in numbers. Haven't you ever heard of that?"

**A/n: Another story that I thought would be cool to write. So this is kind of an alternate beginning, you may say. What would have happened if the giants in Chaos 101 had captured all the heroes, and they met under different circumstances? Will they still work together? Would Jay and Theresa, and Archie and Atlanta, still be coupled? Now this isn't going to be mainly about couples, but more about how they manage to (maybe) save the world without the help of the gods. Please review and tell me if I should continue. Luv, Becky**


	2. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Horses' whinnies floated through the air as Archie mucked out the stable, scrunching up his nostrils as he did every day to try and hold his breath. This was the only part he hated about owning horses; their manure reeked to high heaven. A soft nose ruffled his violet hair, and he looked over his shoulder to see his horse, Atalanta, staring at him through big brown eyes. Her ears were perked forward curiously. It seemed that she sensed a change in him.

"Like my new hairdo, girl?" he asked, grinning. She snorted indignantly and tossed her head as if to say no. He shrugged and ran his hand through it. "Lissa seemed to think it was pretty cool." Did his horse just roll her eyes at him? He blinked and leaned towards her, when suddenly she threw her head high, eyes white with alarm.

"Whoa," he cried as she reared, whinnying wildly, hooves lashing about dangerously. He dropped to the floor to avoid being hit and rolled out of the way. Scampering out of the stables, he slid to a stop as a huge foot crashed into his way. Not even daring to look up, he tried to manoeuvre around it, but was forced to resort to violence as a huge hand reached to grab him. He gave a roundhouse kick, something he had learned in karate.

He jumped away as another hand groped around for him, but he was startled by a girl's scream.

He glanced up at the giants to see one of them carrying a huge brown bag.

Inside, the three teenagers were being thrown around sadistically, banging heads and screaming in pain.

"Ahh!" Atlanta shrieked as Herry landed on top of her, knocking the wind out of her, and leaving her breathless. "Get off!"

"I would, if they would stop jerking around!" he growled. She kicked him off and jumped up, only to topple right back on top of Jay as the giant carrying them started moving again.

Out of the blue, the top of the bag opened, and the teens caught a glimpse of the big blue sky, and freedom, before another teenager was hurled down, yelling.

He happened to land right on top of Atlanta, Jay, and Herry, Atlanta on the bottom of the dog pile. This just wasn't her lucky day.

"GET OFF!" she bellowed, and the boys meekly crawled away, leaving her to gingerly sit up. Glaring at the intruder, she asked brusquely, "Who are you?"

He stared angrily back. "Archie," he snapped. "And what's it to you?"

"Shut…"

"Hey, guys, chill out," Herry said hurriedly, positioning himself as the peacemaker.

"You chill out when you've been kidnapped by big monsters and don't know what the heck is happening!" Atlanta shot back.

"I have been!" Herry responded coldly. "And you don't see me acting like a two year old."

She clenched and unclenched her fists, but stayed quiet. Jay seized this opportunity to introduce himself.

"I'm Jay," he said politely, extending his hand for a shake. Archie grudgingly took it, and then turned to the brawny boy beside him.

"Who are you?" he asked, eyeing his muscles nervously. No matter how good he was at the martial arts, sometimes brute strength won anyways.

"The name's Herry," he answered cheerfully, patting him on the back. Archie winced.

"You sure are strong," he pointed out. Herry shrugged.

"Do you know why we're here?" Archie asked Jay, completely ignoring Atlanta, although she intrigued him.

Jay shook his head. "Sorry." Archie sighed and sat down, wrapping his arms around his knees.

"I hope we get out soon."

Atlanta snorted in disgust. "Who doesn't?"

He turned to glare at her, only to notice how hazel her eyes were, glinting with a type of steely determination that reminded him of his horse.

"Listen; sorry for being so rude… what's your name?"

"Atlanta," she answered quietly. Archie jumped, startled. Her name was almost like Atalanta, his horse's name. That was way too freaky. But he loved the name, even if the owner of it was way too argumentative… just like him. He smiled to himself. This could be the beginning of a beautiful relationship. Judging by the way his heart pounded every time he looked at her, he sure hoped so.

"Cool," he murmured, and she turned to smile at him.

"Thanks."

Jay and Herry suddenly felt very awkward, feeling that this was some type of moment or something. They began to chat quietly amongst themselves. But as soon as it had begun, the quiet attraction between the two was broken.

"So, what's with the hair?"

"None of your business," he said defensively.

"Touché," she muttered, and soon a new round of arguing had begun.

"What's the matter with keeping my business to me?"

"You don't have to be so rude about it!"

Jay and Herry sighed, rolled their eyes, and clamped their hands over their ears.

In a small city garage, a young African-American youth knelt down beside his scooter, fixing a tiny glitch he had discovered. The sun shone brightly overhead, and he hummed lightly under his breath.

"There!" he exclaimed, leaning back to proudly examine his work. The scooter sheered with a golden glow, and the metallic coat reflected the sunlight, casting a blinding arrow of light behind him. A squeal erupted, and terror ran through his veins. He had just enough time to dive out of the way as a piece of log cruised through the air, crushing his wonderful piece of work.

Odie fumbled for his laser, dropping it as the boar advanced, snorting furiously. The boar had him pinned up against the wall, and there was no escape. As two giants advanced, hauling a large bag over his shoulder, he trembled inside of his sneakers.

Then he was being dropped into the bag, and as he went whistling through the air, he fainted.

Atlanta caught the tiny boy in her arms, huffing as she toppled backwards.

"Oomph," she huffed, landing hard on the canvas. She stared down at the newest arrival as the others gathered around. The boy was small, even tinier than her, with green-tinted glasses and an afro. An afro? Atlanta had a sudden urge to feel it, to see if it felt as soft as it looked.

"Umm, hello?" Archie said uncertainly. "Are you okay?"

Herry came and shook him roughly, although he didn't mean to. When you're strong, everything you do seems rough. The boy's eyes fluttered open, and he gave a little squeak before clearing his throat.

"Who are you?" he asked. The others grinned dryly, and then turned to Jay to introduce them all.

"I'm Jay, that's Atlanta, Herry, and Archie. Who're you?"

"Odie, genius and protégée to Bill Gates," he said.

"Really?" Herry asked, dumbfounded.

"Umm, no. I was joking. About the Bill Gates part, anyway."

"Oh." Herry beamed sheepishly.

"So, what are you guys doing here?"

"Oh, we just got kidnapped by giants for no apparent reason at all," Atlanta said vaguely.

"And it seems that we won't know what for until they bring us where we're going," Archie continued.

"Duh," Atlanta muttered. Odie sensed hostility between the two, and immediately tried to back away, only to bump into Atlanta's chin.

"Ouch."

"Sorry."

"No problem." She seemed friendly enough, but every time her gaze fell on the guy with the violet hairdo, it hardened, and a look of pride and boastfulness glazed over them. Odie shrugged. He thought they may end up an old married couple, nagging each other to death.

"Are you two, like going out or something?" he ventured to ask. Atlanta looked horrified, and Archie looked disgusted, but a little sad too. "What planet are you from?"

"I was just asking."

"Yeah, we just met each other," Jay said hurriedly.

"Okay, so I'm in a large bag with complete strangers. This is completely weird."

"You're telling us."

The bag suddenly jerked as it was thrown down onto the ground, and the five teens smashed against each other, bones cracking and teeth gnashing.

"I guess our abductors are taking a rest," Jay commented. "This may be our time to try and escape."

"Maybe not," Herry replied as the bag swayed. The giants were now picking them up again. Suddenly an inhumane screech filled the air, and the five all covered their ears, groaning.

"What was that?" Atlanta asked fearfully.

"I don't know, but it definitely didn't sound good," Odie cried.

A flapping of wings could be heard as the large metallic bird the giants had hired soared off into the big blue yonder to find the sixth hero to add to their collection. It flew off into the clouds, disappearing just as subtly as it had appeared.


End file.
